


Watch it Burn

by midnightflame



Series: Homecoming [13]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: But he still gets the job done, M/M, Mind Games, Patience is Keith's weakness, hints of torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-21
Updated: 2017-01-21
Packaged: 2018-09-18 22:10:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9404993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightflame/pseuds/midnightflame
Summary: Not everything that torments is what we think it to be.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is the second to last piece of this series, and hopefully by now a lot of things are answered. I hope to have the last part up this weekend, bringing this all to a close, but for now, I hope you enjoy this piece!

“I won’t ask you again - _where_ is he?!” 

“Is that what you think? That you can simply ask and you’ll get the answers you seek?”

“No, I figured I would have to beat them out of you.”

“Then why bother asking at all?”

Keith has no answer for that. Or rather, any reply at this point would have simply been a waste of breath. He is far better off using that for attacking rather than running circles around them both with words. 

And Sendak had proven so very good at luring him on a chase with nothing more than a statement. Infuriating doesn’t even begin to cover it. 

As he launches himself forward, Keith takes careful note of the control panel. He had come here looking for one; the last thing he needs to do is trash it with some rash attack. Only, the way Sendak evades him begins to make him think that might not be so simple a task. He’s barely a foot away from crashing into it by the time he catches his footing, his sword strike having sliced through nothing but air and perhaps a bit of his ego. 

“I’m surprised you managed to shake your guards,” Sendak states, with the sort of emphasis on _surprised_ that leads Keith to believe it had been no more surprising than rain on an overcast day. Like it should have been an inevitability.

The fact that no one seems overly concerned about this fact (there have been no alarms raised, no trampling footsteps ringing loud down hallways) has left Keith bewildered instead. 

“Yeah, well, they weren’t exactly your best,” Keith replies, eyes narrowing in suspicion. 

“But you’ve already encountered one of our best.”

Leveling his sword, Keith lines up its point with Sendak’s chest. “Who are you talking about?”

“And here I thought you two were rather. . .close.” 

The smile that slips over Sendak’s lips is goading, merry in all the ways it means to hurt. And it does, for all Keith hates to admit it.

“Shiro isn’t one of yours.”

“Maybe not at first, he wasn’t. But now. . .” Sendak’s voice trails off. He eyes the sword point with all the interest a lion has for the workings of an ant. It sends Keith flying at him once more, and yet again, he’s danced around with nothing but air to greet his blade. 

“You know, there are so many ways to break a man,” Sendak continues. He takes several steps around the perimeter of the room, his gaze fixed with predatory intent on Keith. “And once you’ve done that, so many more ways to rebuild him.”

He exhales, soft and slow, watching as Sendak continues to track around the room, keeping just enough distance between them that any attack would certainly be seen in the making. Every ounce of him wants to do it though, to end this beast of a being that knows nothing but how to inflict pain and misery, all for an emperor that dreams of nothing more than domination. Instead, Keith holds his ground, his gaze locked just as intently on Sendak.

It brings a small twist to the smile on Sendak’s lips. “But if you could have heard him scream. Tell me, how many times do you think your name was on his lips?”

“You _assholes_ ,” Keith yells, ferocious, as he explodes forward, all thoughts of patience and better laid plans tossed to the back of his head. There is only a bubbling fury in his core, as memories of the past few days rampage through his head, as he can only imagine the things that would have brought Shiro to a place as desolate and dark as the one he had first seen him in. 

Sendak is laughing when Keith’s blade cuts right through him. His image shorts out, laughter still echoing, then shimmers back into existence, fully intact. 

“. . .You’re not real.”

Sendak’s smile pulls sharp, his gaze critical. 

“This whole time, you’ve been nothing but a. . .” Keith growls out in frustration, swinging his sword once more through Sendak’s figure. It shivers out of existence, reforming seconds later over by room’s left most screen.

“I did say there were many ways to rebuild someone, did I not?”

“Yeah. . .whatever. . .” Keith mutters as he makes his way over the control panel, his eyes warily noting Sendak’s position. His fingers dance over the keyboard as he sets about imputing the code Pidge had entrusted to him. 

“A distress signal?”

“Something like that.” Keith watches as the screen blares red at him, Galran numbers flashing large and promising. 

“You’ll have ten minutes at most with this little trick of yours.”

“That’s more than enough for me.” Keith turns as Sendak phases in front of him. He brushes a hand through the image, then steps into it entirely, making his way towards the door. “Now, why aren’t you stopping me? I’m sure you can manage something, can’t you?”

“Because I’m not going to be the one who stops you.”

This time, it’s Keith who is smiling when he replies. 

“Then I’ll be taking Shiro.”


End file.
